Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 5.12.10

evaḿ kṛśaḿ sthūlam aṇur bṛhad yad

asac ca saj jīvam ajīvam anyat

dravya-svabhāvāśaya-kāla-karma-

nāmnājayāvehi kṛtaḿ dvitīyam

SYNONYMS

evam — thus; kṛśam — skinny or short; sthūlam — fat; aṇuḥ — tiny; bṛhat — big; yat — which; asat — impermanent; ca — and; sat — existing; jīvam — the living entities; ajīvam — inanimate, lifeless matter; anyat — other causes; dravya — phenomena; sva-bhāva — nature; āśaya — disposition; kāla — time; karma — activities; nāmnā — only by such names; ajayā — by material nature; avehi — you should understand; kṛtam — done; dvitīyam — duality.

TRANSLATION

Since this universe has no real ultimate existence, the things within it — shortness, differences, grossness, skinniness, smallness, bigness, result, cause, living symptoms, and materials — are all imagined. They are all pots made of the same substance, earth, but they are named differently. The differences are characterized by the substance, nature, predisposition, time and activity. You should know that all these are simply mechanical manifestations created by material nature.

PURPORT

The temporary manifestations and varieties within this material world are simply creations of material nature under various circumstances: prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇa-ni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ. The actions and reactions carried out by the material nature are sometimes accepted as our scientific inventions; therefore we want to take credit for them and defy the existence of God. This is described in Bhagavad-gītā (3.27), ahańkāra-vimūḍhātmā kartāham iti manyate: due to being covered by the illusory external energy, the living entity tries to take credit for the differentiated creations within the material world. Actually all these are being created automatically by the material force set in motion by the energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore the ultimate cause is the Supreme Person. As stated in Brahma-saḿhitā:

īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ

sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ

anādir ādir govindaḥ

sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam

[Bs. 5.1]

He is the cause of all causes, the ultimate cause. In this regard Śrīla Madhvācārya says: evaḿ sarvaḿ tathā prakṛtvayai kalpitaḿ viṣṇor anyat. evaḿ prakṛtyādhāraḥ svayam ananyādhāro viṣṇur eva ataḥ sarva-śabdāś ca tasminn eva. Actually the original cause is Lord Viṣṇu, but out of ignorance people think that matter is the cause of everything.

rājā goptāśrayo bhūmiḥ

śaraṇaḿ ceti laukikaḥ

vyavahāro na tat satyaḿ

tayor brahmāśrayo vibhuḥ

Things are contemplated on the ephemeral or external platform, but actually this is not the truth. The actual protector and shelter of everyone is Brahman, the Supreme, not the king.

goptrī ca tasya prakṛtis

tasyā viṣṇuḥ svayaḿ prabhuḥ

tava goptrī tu pṛthivī

na tvaḿ goptā kṣiteḥ smṛtaḥ

ataḥ sarvāśrayaiś caiva

goptā ca harir īśvaraḥ

sarva-śabdābhidheyaś ca

śabda-vṛtter hi kāraṇam

sarvāntaraḥ sarva-bahir

eka eva janārdanaḥ

The actual protectress is the material nature, but Viṣṇu is her Lord. He is the Lord of everything. Lord Janārdana is the director both externally and internally. He is the cause of the function of words and what is expressed in all sound.

śirasodhāratā yadvad

grīvāyās tadvad eva tu

āśrayatvaḿ ca goptṛtvam

anyeṣām upacārataḥ

Lord Viṣṇu is the resting place of the entire creation: brahmaṇo hi pratiṣṭhāham (Bg. 14.27). On Brahman, everything is resting. All the universes are resting on the brahmajyoti, and all the planets are resting on the universal atmosphere. In each and every planet there are oceans, hills, states and kingdoms, and each planet is giving shelter to so many living entities. They are all standing on the earth of feet and legs, torso and shoulders, but actually everything is resting ultimately on the potencies of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore He is known ultimately as sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam [Bs. 5.1], the cause of all causes.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness